The Russian space agency announces that it has reached an agreement with NASA to operate the ISS until 2028

The Russian Space Agency Roscosmos and NASA agreed to continue exploiting the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028, announced to the Russian director after the first face -to -face meeting with its American counterpart since 2018, this Thursday, July 31.

“The dialogue was fine. We have agreed to continue exploiting the ISS until 2028. (…) and until 2030, we will work at its orbit out,” said Dmitri Bakanov, cited by the state agency Tass.

According to him, Roscosmos and NASA have also planned to discuss their cooperation when the national orbital stations that succeed in the ISS will be deployed, as well as the way of “exploiting them and for a series of missions in the distant space.”

Serious tensions linked to Ukraine

Dmitri Bakanov had arrived in Houston in the United States on Tuesday to meet with NASA’s interim administrator, Sean Duffy, despite the serious tensions due to the conflict in Ukraine.

Space is one of the latest areas of cooperation between Russia and the United States, which exploit ISS. Russia had announced in April 2023 its intention to continue using its segment of this orbital laboratory for a few years, where its cosmonauts are permanently, despite its obsolescence.

Moscow aims to build its own orbital station, despite the difficulties of the Russian space sector, for years undermined by chronic sub -financing, inverse and corruption scandals. President Vladimir Putin said in October 2023 that the first segment of this new Russian space station should be orbit in 2027.

A retirement planned in 2024

As part of the sanctions against Russia adopted since 2022, Western countries have finished their association with rostesm, but Russian soybeans remain one of the only ways to transport equipment to the ISS and Moscow play a key role in their maintenance in orbit.

The international cooperation model that brings together Europe, Japan, the United States and Russia, the ISS began to meet in 1998. Its retirement was scheduled for 2024, but NASA estimated that it could operate until 2030.